The most important skill or ability that a person can have other than intellectual ability is the ability to communicate well with other people. This is important in all facets of life.

Good communication skills help us both in our academic and work lives and our personal lives. Writing papers is important in school and writing reports is often important in work. Being able to present one’s research verbally is important in many lines of work. At the same time, communication skills are absolutely vital in our personal lives. If we cannot communicate well with others we will have a hard time building happy relationships in our personal life.

Countless skills and abilities exist that help people to be productive, successful, and assets to others. Some of the most common skills and abilities that circulate amongst varied groups of people are superior interpersonal skills, analytical/critical-thinking skills, time management skills, literacy skills, computer-literacy, communications (oral and written), multi-tasking abilities, creative abililities, problem-solving abilities, and the ability to complete tasks with little to no supervision. Usually, skills and abilities are ranked based on the environment (i.e. personal, educational, professional) for which tasks have to be completed. For example, within one's personal life, he/she might find that the having time management and interpersonal skills to be the most important. However, within one's educational and professional life, having literacy skills and multi-tasking abilities might be critical. In essence, skills and abilities can be priceless regardless of being formal or informal, or popular. Each person functions day-to-day with so many skills and abilities, that some of them go un-noticed.